how to get rid of snails?

COPPER IS A BAD IDEA.....Just in general. You probably will not get totally rid of them without breaking down the entire tank and cleaning it with a mild bleach solution. If the snails seem to have just exploded then you are overfeeding the tank. the plecs and the tetras can be fed every other day-like Jinkzd said:) and they will be fine, this will greatly reduce the numbers. Try that first, remember it will take a while for you to notice less numbers. If you want to try a more aggressive method and do not have any labryinth fish in the tank you can add any product to kill algae. For some reason it kills the snails, I think it erodes their shells or something.
 
Well ,what worked for me was to not do any water changes for a month, and then do a massive one. This killed all my snails dead in my experimental tank (no fish, plant only.)

Ok, I'm just kidding, don't do that! =) But Aquarium Salt kills em real quick, if your fish can tolerate it. I used the directed amount the box and added the salt directly to the tank, although its strongly recommended not to do this. I only did it because the salt falls directly to the bottom, where most the snails were hanging out.

I'm just wondering, are you sure you can't leave them be? They are a very good clean up crew, (i have seen them eat poop, with my own eyes!) and keep my glass free of algae. Or perhaps try a different kind of snail - I prefer Ramshorn and Malaysian Trumpet. Neither one ate any of my plants! =)
 
melissa3 said:
Aquarium Salt kills em real quick, if your fish can tolerate it. I used the directed amount the box and added the salt directly to the tank, although its strongly recommended not to do this. I only did it because the salt falls directly to the bottom, where most the snails were hanging out.

I'm just wondering, are you sure you can't leave them be? They are a very good clean up crew, (i have seen them eat poop, with my own eyes!) and keep my glass free of algae. Or perhaps try a different kind of snail - I prefer Ramshorn and Malaysian Trumpet. Neither one ate any of my plants! =)
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Salt might help but I doublt enough of a concentration could be reached with the fish present to be all that effective in reduction but it may slow the multiplication down. I never think of salt since I have plants and they're not very salt tolerant.

A tank without plants doesn't need much light and shouldn't have algae on the glass. The light only needs to be on when the humans want to see the occupants. If there's algae on the glass it's most likely getting too much light. Therefore snails aren't needed to clean the glass. When food is cut back to help prevent the snails from multiplying and are not eradicated fast enough some plants will fall prey to snails. They like soft leaves and can demolish plants pretty quick.

Snails don't eat "poop" but they sure do produce a lot of waste and in large numbers have the potential to have a negative affect on water chemistry. Water changes with a thorough gravel cleaning helps keep water chemistry in check, will reduce food and can remove some baby snails.
 
petluvr said:
COPPER IS A BAD IDEA.....Just in general. You probably will not get totally rid of them without breaking down the entire tank and cleaning it with a mild bleach solution. If the snails seem to have just exploded then you are overfeeding the tank. the plecs and the tetras can be fed every other day-like Jinkzd said:) and they will be fine, this will greatly reduce the numbers. Try that first, remember it will take a while for you to notice less numbers. If you want to try a more aggressive method and do not have any labryinth fish in the tank you can add any product to kill algae. For some reason it kills the snails, I think it erodes their shells or something.
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The products used to kill algae contain copper.
 
The remedies are all fine, but IMO you need to be looking for the cause which I believe is most likely too many available nutrients. 2 "Large" Plecos will provide plenty of food for the snails even if you are not over-feeding which is a good possibility. How often and how much do you feed? How large are the plecos? What sort of filter are you running? As mentioned, common plecos will get WAY too big (up to 2 FEET).

Also, please please... never release anything into the wild that's been in your aquarium. Either crush them and allow your fish to dine on escargo or post them in the Classifieds for the price of shipping (plenty of folks, myself included, feed them to loaches and puffers).
 
How to dispose of snails?

msjinkzd said:
You could try feeding every other day and increasing your maintenance as well as baiting them with veggie. Often their popuations will dramatically decrease as the supply of food does.
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is there a proper way to dispose of the snails on the lettuce leaf? Sounds like releasing them into a nearby pond has good intentions for the snails, but isnt really good for the environment.

How should one dispose of the snails they find on the lettuce?

NIPS
 
bait trap, and cut down on feeding is the better way to go rather than using any meds.
 
I have been told that permanganate will work without harming fish or plants. I haven't tried it yet myself so I can't say for sure. Just passing on what I have been told, and yes, my follow-up research supports these claims.
 
catnipgal said:
is there a proper way to dispose of the snails on the lettuce leaf? Sounds like releasing them into a nearby pond has good intentions for the snails, but isnt really good for the environment.

How should one dispose of the snails they find on the lettuce?

NIPS
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You can either crush them (good fish food), or throw into garbage.
 
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